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Episode transcript from the Close It Now podcast with Sam Wakefield.
Here's a question that may make you uncomfortable. How many times have you presented options to a homeowner and they say, let me think about it. Most people assume your homeowner needs time to process. Here's what is actually happening. They have no idea how to make this decision.
Think about it. How many times in their life have they ever bought HVAC equipment or done whatever your trade or your industry is? How many times do they actually do that in their lifetime? 3 times in a lifetime will they replace an entire heating and air system? So I don't know the actual statistics for other trades, but the point is, it's not that many and it's not very often.
And every single time, even if it's, you know, maybe every 10 years, they replace a water heater, or 10 to 15 years, a water heater, or, you know, garage door opener or whatever. The thing is, it's almost never. And by the time they do it again, everything has changed so dramatically from the technology to the process that they really have no idea how to make this decision. So the main thing is they don't know the questions to ask. They don't know what matters.
They don't know how to evaluate the options you just gave them. So when you say, here's your three options, good, better, best, which one do you want? And you just handed them a test they never studied for. That's why so many people feel like they have to cram for the test and do all of this research online. And what do most people do when they're given a test they're not prepared for?
Well, they freeze. They hesitate. They say, I need to think about it. Not because they don't trust you, but because you didn't train them how to buy. So I'm Sam Wakefield.
This is close it now. This is what we're going to cover today and I'm going to give you some quick, easy ways to implement immediately to start getting instantly some better results when you are presenting your options. So before we get to that, let's take a quick what's in your cup break. So I'm actually excited to talk about what's in your cup today because my coffee has been boring for a while. So I got some new beans I have today.
This is Peet's P E E T S brand Peet's coffee. This is the Cafe Domingo medium roast that I have in my cup and I can tell you this is a pretty dang good cup of coffee. So I'm stoked about this. What is in your cup today? What are you drinking?
If you have a suggestion for beans, send it over. I would love to hear. Or if you are in a part of the country and you have an exceptional local coffee shop that I need to try, I would love that suggestion because I do trainings all over North America and if you're listening overseas, anywhere outside of the North America and you would like me to come train for you on location at your site, pop me a message and we can discuss that. But where are you and what great coffee shops are in your area? Because when I come and train for your company or for any other companies in the area, I would love to visit those shops and try the coffee.
So that's what's in my cup today. What is in your cup? You got lattes, you got a monster, you've got. Make sure to drink your water people. It is warming up date.
This is mid April when I'm recording this 2026 so I know it's starting to get hot. Make sure to stay hydrated. So let's all toast this episode real quick and get into it. Everybody grab your drinks. Three, two, one.
All right, so before we get going on the into this episode, I do want to highlight a that I got just the other day. Okay, so this one is a five star review. The title is moving up at Isaac heating and AC from Let's see, this is always the shield. So who always the shield. Whoever you are, I thank you for this review.
If you hear me read this on an episode, message me and you will have earned yourself a one hour coaching session. And so message me. Let's use that and get you to the next level. Because people, people always get breakthroughs when I do one on one coaching with them. So the review says, 10 years ago, I took a chance at becoming a residential service HVAC technician, having no knowledge about the field through Isaac's in house training boot camp.
And then it says, I joined Sam's Drive Time University 18 months ago. And now I'm transitioning over to our home energy performance team as an energy auditor. Super cool, man. I love this. So it says, sam, I raised my cup filled with water when I drive to thank you for sharing your insight and experience on emotional bonding and how it equates to higher closing rates.
As a service tech, consistently feeding sale leads to our install department when appropriate and educating customers on the benefits of service agreements when appropriate, I believe led me to this promotional opportunity. Looking forward to this next chapter in my career to further helping people invest in their homes. If you want to increase your vision on sales, listen to Sam in all caps, exclamation point. So thank you. Always the shield.
I love that. And you're at Isaac Heating and Air. I appreciate the review. That is awesome. It's super helpful when I get reviews because the more reviews I have, the more people listen, the more Apple and Spotify and all of those places promote the podcast out to people because when there's consistent content and consistent reviews, they rank it higher.
So I get to help more people. So thank you for the review and always the shield. Message me and let's get you on the books for your coaching session. I love it. All right, so that is the review of the week.
So let's get into this because this is a good topic. So over the last few weeks, we've been building a complete framework for how to approach appointments. We talked about the tipping point, how homeowners have already overcome massive social anxiety just to pick up the phone and call you. We talked about showing your work, building the bridge so they can see how you got to your solution. We talked about credibility, which is planning the flags in the first five minutes so they know who they are listening to.
Today we're going to talk about something that ties it all together. So this is leading. The big truth that most people don't want to hear, though, is your homeowners don't know how to buy whatever it is you're there for. They have no idea that's not something they do often. And they definitely don't have experience in it.
If it's HVAC, if it's plumbing, if it's electrical, garage doors or whatever else. Right. Windows. I know there's a lot of people that listen to Windows people don't know how to buy that. They've never done it before.
They don't know what questions to ask, they don't know what matters. And if you don't train them along the way, they'll make the decision based on wrong criteria. So what they'll, of course, as we know, what they'll end up doing is they're going to end up picking the cheapest option because they don't understand the value from your other options. Or even worse, they go with someone else who's cheaper strictly because if it doesn't feel like there's any difference, they're just going to pick the one that has the least financial pain for them. Or of course they'll say, let me think about it, because now they feel overwhelmed and don't know how to process what you just shared with them, what you just told them, and then you leave frustrated.
I did everything great. I presented great options. Why didn't they buy? And then, especially if you're in a company where the, you know, call by call management, all these things, I've got to submit all of this back over to the office. They help me build out my options.
I built the options perfectly. Boom, here's the options. And they still don't move forward with anything, because what happened is you presented options, but you didn't train them how to evaluate the options. You didn't give your homeowners the correct lens to look through when they are looking at your options. And the difference between being a professional professional and someone who just throws information out people and hoping it sticks is exactly this.
So there is a mental framework that I really want you to lock into. Your job is not to present options. Your job is to train homeowners how to buy from you. So you can think about it like this. If I walked up to you right now.
So I'm going to use a vehicle example because we all buy vehicles and we're going to talk trucks for a minute. Now, I want you to set aside any type of emotional connection you have to a specific brand, because that's important. We're thinking about the vehicle itself. So if I walked up to you right now and said, hey, I need you to buy a truck, here are your three options. Ford F150, Chevy, Silverado, and a Dodge Ram 1500.
Which one do you want? What would you say? So with any emotional connection to the brand aside, probably I have no idea. What's the difference? What am I using it for?
What's my budget? Do I need to work Do I need it for work or personal use? Because you don't know how to evaluate the options without context. Now let's change it a little bit. Now it's like if.
Okay, let me ask you a few questions first. Are you using this for work or personal? Are you hauling heavy equipment or just groceries? Do you care more about gas mileage or towing capacity? What's your budget?
And based on your answers, then, I said, got it. So based on what you just told me, here's what I would recommend. The F150 has the best gas mileage but lower towing capacity. The Silverado is in the middle of the road on both, and the Ram has the most towing power. But you're going to pay for it at the pump.
Given what you said about needing it for work and hauling trailers, I'd lean towards the Ram. Does that make sense? Now you can make a decision, because I didn't just throw options at you. I trained you how to evaluate the options. And so thinking in those terms, that's what you have to do with your homeowners.
Because when you walk into a house and say, here's your three options. Good, better, best. Which one do you want? And. And quick side detour.
Yes, I know. There's a whole conversation around the psychology of how many options should we have? Should we have three? Should we just do one? Should we do six?
Should we do four? Yes, I get it. We're going to keep it simple for right now, because I know a lot of you go with the three option. Good, better, best. So we're going to stay within that framework.
I'll do a whole other episode at some point on why I believe how we should present options and what the number is. And realistically, the answer is it depends. There is a world where six options is the right number. There's a world where one option is the right number. There's a world where three is.
There's a world where four is. So it depends on the situation. It doesn't depend on this is the right number all the time, no matter what. So don't get stuck in the. Don't get caught in the weeds.
On I have to come up with this many options. What I want you to really latch onto is what is contextually appropriate for the person I'm speaking to right now. And so you have to think about it, because, remember, we're not selling to a script. We're selling to a human being. And so basically, so when we come back to this, When you walk into a house and you Say, here's your three options.
Good, better, best. Which one do you want? You just did what I did. In the first scenario with the trucks, you gave them three options with no context for how to choose, and they're going to freeze or pick the cheapest one or say, let me think about it. But when you train them, when you ask the right questions, help them understand what matters.
When you give them the appropriate lens to look through and guide them toward the solution that fits their situation, that's when everything starts to change. They the feeling of overwhelm starts to go away. They start to feel confident in their decision because you did not make them figure it out on their own. You led them to the destination. Because remember, people don't buy when they're more educated.
They buy when they feel safe. It's our job to create a container where they feel safe, comfortable and safe enough to make a buying decision. On the in this process, this is how you achieve. Once it closes, it's not because you forced it and handled objections better. When you do this part, there's less objections to even handle because it disappears.
Because now it makes sense for them to move forward with what you're recommending. So let's go through this a couple different ways because I want to show you what this really looks like in practice. Okay, so we're going to stick with an HVAC example because I know that's where I come from. That's where most of the listeners. Of course, now I train everything.
I've got everything from a bathroom remodel company. I've got three plumbing companies we're working with right now, currently HVAC all over the place. So the concept applies everywhere. In fact, it's fun. One of my coaching clients, it's a plumber over in Raleigh, shout out to Austin.
He texted me yesterday, man, I had a $5,000 sale for plumbing. That's awesome. So great job. So here's the wrong way. When we present options without giving them the context, without giving them the lens to look through, without training your homeowner how to buy from you.
So you would sound something like, okay. Based on what I found, I've put together three options for you. Option one is the basic repair. We replace the capacitor, you get back up and running. That's $850.
Option two, and don't get for everybody out there, don't get attached to the number. Yes. Some of you are going to say, wow, that's way too high. Some of you are going to say, man, that's less than we charge. Some of you say, man, that's exactly right.
It doesn't matter. Don't get attached to the number. Divorce the numbers. Marry the process. Okay, based on what I found, I've put together three options for you.
Option one is the basic repair. We replace. And notice, I'm slowing down here, too. We replace the capacitor, get you back up and running. That's $850.
Option two is the mid tier. We replace the capacitor and also address the blower motor, which is showing signs of Wear. That's $2,400. And option three is the full replacement. The new system, new warranty, everything taken care of.
That's $12,500. Which one makes the most sense for you? And of course, your homeowner gives you a blank stare and they go, let me think about it. What just happened? Right?
They're like, can you email this to me? We'll get back to you. So what happened is we gave them three options with no framework for how to choose between them. And yes, I know we're going through this quickly, and there's a lot of other things that we can do, but this is the point I want to get to. They have no idea what showing signs of wear means.
They don't know if $850 is worth it, if the blower motor is just going to fail in six months. They don't know if 12,500 is reasonable or if you're just trying to upsell them. They don't know any of this. So you presented options, but you didn't train them how to buy. So let's shift it a little bit, and I'm going to give you just a generic example here of a much more correct way.
So, okay, so before I walk you through your options, I want to make sure we're on the same page on a couple things. First, let me ask you, when it comes to this furnace, are you looking to just get through this season and deal with it later, or are you looking for something that's going to give you more peace of mind for the next several years? Homeowner, of course, they're going to say, honestly, I just want to stop thinking about it. I don't want to deal with this again or whatever they say. So this is the example we're using.
I just want to stop thinking about it. I don't want to deal with this again. Got it. So peace of mind is the priority that helps. Second question, when it comes to making this decision is Your main concern concerned keeping the cost as low as possible right now.
Or are you more concerned about avoiding future breakdowns and surprise expenses? And so of course they say, I mean, I don't want to overspend, but I also don't want this breaking down again in three months. Totally understand. So you're looking for something that makes sense financially, but you also want to avoid surprise breakdowns. Does that sound right?
So notice we're checking in. They go, yes, yeah, exactly, perfect. So with that in mind, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to walk you through your options, starting with the complete solution, everything taken care of. And then I'll show you what changes as we step down from there.
That way you can see exactly what you're getting with each option and what you're not. Sound good? And this is your permission question. And they go, yeah, that works. So now you present the options top down.
We always go top down. So option one is the complete solution. New system, new warranty, everything taken care of. It's going to give you a decade of peace of mind. And based on what you told me about wanting peace of mind and avoiding surprise breakdowns, this solves all of that.
You don't have to think about this again for another 15 to 20 years. The monthly investment on this is $200, whatever your monthly investment is. And they go, okay, now option number two does what option one does get you back up and running. Addresses the blower motor, except it does not give you the new system. So you're still working with an 11 year old furnace.
You probably get another two to three years of reliability. But at some point you're going to be looking at replacement. The monthly investment on this is, we'll call it $68. And then Homer says, Got it. Option three is the repair.
We replace the capacitor, get you through the season. This does what option two does, get you back up and running, except it doesn't address the blower motor. So while this fixes the immediate problem, you're probably looking at more repairs in the next year or two. This one is $850, or about $24 a month if you want to finance it. Then you guide them.
Based on what you said earlier about wanting peace of mind and avoiding those surprise breakdowns, I'd lean toward option one. Does that make sense? And they say, okay, In a perfect world, they say, yeah, okay, let's do the replacement. What just happened? You didn't present options.
You trained them how to evaluate the options by A asking question. Number one, asking questions to understand their priorities. Two, framing this decision around what they care about. Peace of mind, avoiding surprises. Number three, presenting top down.
We always present your. Always present your complete solution first, then showing what gets taken away as you step down. Now, number four, we're going to lead with the monthly investment. That doesn't mean you're hiding the total number. We're not hiding anything, but we want to anchor their mind into, wow, that's less than I expected.
I can afford this. And that's the first thing we want them to see. That's why we lead with the monthly investment. And then guiding them, you know, number five is guiding them towards the solution that fits what they told you. They didn't feel overwhelmed, they felt led in this conversation.
And that's the difference. So what you need to understand on a deeper level. So a little bit of brain science here, clarity doesn't come from information. Clarity comes from being guided. So think about the last time you made a big purchase, you didn't understand.
Maybe it was a car, maybe it was insurance, maybe it was a financial investment. Did you want whoever you're dealing with, the salesperson or the rep, to just throw a bunch of options at you and say, which one do you want? No, of course you wanted them to ask you questions, understand your situation, and then say, based on what you just told me, here's what I'd recommend. This is exactly what home your homeowners want from you. They don't want to be the expert.
That's why they hired you. If they wanted to be the expert, they would have looked, watched a YouTube and done it themself. They want you to be the expert. And when you lead them, when you ask the right questions, when you help them understand what matters and guide them towards the right solution, now they're starting to feel confident in their decision. Not because they figured it out on their own.
Again, that's exactly why you're there, but because they trust you to lead them. And that trust is what closes sales. This is not fancy scripts. It's not pressure tactics. It's leadership.
So the next time you're in an appointment, ask yourself, am I presenting options or am I training them how to buy? Because if you're just presenting options, you're making them figure it out on their own. And most people can't. They don't have the education, they don't have the experience. And so if you're training them, if you're asking questions, if you're framing the decision, if you're guiding them toward the right solution.
That's when you're doing your job. That's when you're leading. So let's recap this. And yes, I'm going to do a whole nother episode on presenting with financing and those types of things. I did one not too long ago.
But there's a lot more context to unpack about how to present with financing and how to frame it, some of the language around it. But let's recap this episode so Bringing it Home Homeowners don't know how to buy. Fill in the blank. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, water treatment, garage doors, windows, roofing. They've done it once, maybe twice in their life.
If you just present options and say which one do you want? You're handing them a test they haven't studied for. Your job is not to present options, it's to train them how to buy from you. You. So ask questions first.
What are their priorities? Peace of mind or lowest cost? Fix it now or long term solution? Frame the options around what they told you. Here's what this solves, here's what it doesn't solve.
Guide them towards the solution that best fits. Based on what you said, here's what I would lean towards. People don't want more options. They want clarity. And clarity comes from being led.
When you lead, they feel confident. And confident people buy because that's the whole thing. People don't buy when they're more educated. They buy when they feel safe. And when they feel safe, they start to feel the confidence to be able to make the decision that is not a mistake.
Because the biggest fear is making a mistake in their buying decision. And so if this has changed how you think about presenting options, if you're realizing the issue isn't your product or your price, because it's not. But the fact that you're not training homeowners how to buy. I want you to try this in this week's appointments before you present options. Ask questions, understand their priorities, then frame the options around what they told you.
Watch how much easier the decision becomes when they feel led instead of overwhelmed. And if you want help with this, if you want to break down every part of your process and learn how to train homeowners instead of just presenting options, I am making an announcement super soon. I have in 2026 I've got a four part micro trainings. They're going to be June, July, August and September. Check out my Facebook Join the newsletter.
net join the newsletter Go to the Facebook page. I'm announcing the trainings. They're going to dive into exactly this. And don't worry, they're going to be in the evenings one day a week with homework in between. So you get to practice and imp each week and each month.
June, we're working on one specific topic. July, we're working on something else. August, we're working on something else. And then September, I've got a challenge for you where we're going to run a contest, and it's going to be a lot of fun. So if you want to know more about what that is, pop me a message, because we are training you to lead in the home.
So next week, we are diving into something that will completely change how you see success. The matrix of success. Why effort doesn't equal results. Most people think if they just work harder, they'll get better results. But effort without strategy, you're just exhausted.
I've been there. I've worked my face off. I didn't see my family, my wife in April, May, every year would say, okay, I'm the air conditioning widow again. I'll see you again in October. And then I would be gone before the kids were up home, after they were in bed.
And I didn't see my family for days on end. And I do not want you to have to relive those experiences of my life because without effort, strategy, with effort, without strategy is just exhaustion. And so what we're going to do is I'm going to break down the four quadrants that determine whether you're spinning your wheels or actually moving forward and coming soon. Definitely, like I mentioned, doing a full episode on how to present financing properly. And so we're going to lead with monthly investment, et cetera, et cetera.
So this is when you start to implement this, when you become the leader, when you truly become the leader in your life, in the home, with your family, in your business, that is when you truly start to become someone worth buying from. I heard this expression years ago. This resonated with me since I was 19. Leader of one, leader of many. If I can't lead one, I can't lead any.
And that one starts with you. And that is how you become someone worth buying from. You've been listening to the Close it now podcast. Our passion is to dive headfirst into the transformative movement that's reshaping the very foundation of HVAC and home improvement, and at the same time, covering fitness, nutrition, relationships and personal growth, proving that we can indeed have it. All.
We hope you enjoyed the show. If you did, make sure to, like, rate and review. net. Find us on Instagram, herealcloseitnow and on Facebook, closeitnow. See you next time,.
Sam.